Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of St Demetrios | Community organisation

Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of St Demetrios

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25.01.2022 The Vema of the Church, the Newspaper of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is now an online-only newspaper. Go to: https://vema.org.au

25.01.2022 Announcement | Covid-19 Plan Dear Parishioners, Our Covid-19 Plan has been completed by the Rector & Administrative Committee of our Parish and Community in accordance with government regulations.... According to government regulation, from July 1st there is no upper limit to how many can be on church property but numbers must be calculated according to the 4 square metre rule. Therefore, taking this into consideration, 250 people plus staff can be on the site at any one time. IT IS VITAL that everyone strictly adheres to the numbers of people allowed in the various areas as listed below and of course, please ensure you follow the instructions of the Rector, Administrative Committee members and Neokoros at all times to ensure compliance with government regulations. The numbers below also apply to funerals since June 13. These numbers are taken directly from our Covid-19 Plan and exclude staff: Church interior: 70 people Church surrounds: 80 people Church hall: 100 people Total number of people (excluding staff) allowed in all areas: 250 Staff members include: Priest, Neokoros, alter boys, chanters and 9 Admin. Committee members. God bless you all. + Fr Nectarios Joannou Rector

24.01.2022 Today we were blessed to welcome Archbishop Makarios of Australia to St Marys, and I was honoured to attend the service at St Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church an...d luncheon with our local Greek community. This is the first visit by an Archbishop to the St Demetrios Parish in 29 years, and everyone was overjoyed to speak and meet with Archbishop Makarios. His Eminence and I discussed the impact of Coronavirus on our communities, and our shared love and passion for education, and opportunities for young people. He delivered a message to the Parish of love and unity, which is very poignant for our times. Thank you St Demetrios and our local Greek community for your kind and welcoming hospitality and friendship. Greek Orthodox Parish & Community of St Demetrios

24.01.2022 On Sunday 19th July 2020, with great joy and enthusiasm, the faithful of the Greek Orthodox Church of St Demetrios, St Marys received the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia, His Eminence Archbishop MAKARIOS of Australia. It was a spiritually uplifting and moving day for those in attendance to experience and partake in the first Divine Liturgy of His Eminence at this church since enthronement on 29th June 2019, being also 29 years since an Archbishop had set foo...t in this church. Following the Divine Liturgy, Reverend Fr Nectarios Joannou presented a gift on behalf of all parishioners saying that the gift was not a symbolic one nor something that will just be placed on the shelf of a library to hold up books, but is a gift of love from the heart to a most worthy and philanthropic Archbishop. In turn, His Eminence showed His great appreciation for the warm welcome He was given by the parishioners and the kind words directed to Him by the Rector of the Parish. After the distribution of the antidoron, a formal Luncheon was held in the church Hall in honour of the first visit of His Eminence Archbishop MAKARIOS. Present at the luncheon were also His Worship Mayor of Penrith City Mr Ross Fowler and the Federal Member for Lindsay Mrs Melissa McIntosh. In their speeches, they commended the Greek Orthodox faithful of the Parish for the tireless work they had put into building the church and hall of the Parish and the contribution that is made by the Administrative Committee and Philoptohos Society to the local community of Penrith.

23.01.2022 The program for the visit of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios will be as follows: 7:30am Matins commences 8:00am Arrival and greeting of His Eminence outside the church 8:10am His Eminence will enter the church... 9:30am Archepiscopal Divine Liturgy 10:45am Proclamation by the Rector to His Eminence and gift presentation 11:00am Luncheon in honour of the visit of His Eminence See more

21.01.2022 https://youtu.be/elY8AWlDxWM

21.01.2022 #TraditionExplained | Why do we stand so much during church? Get the answer to the question we all whinged about as children here: www.cycnsw.org.au//why-do-we-stand-so-much-during-services

19.01.2022 Hi All, due to the current situation in Sydney Greek Dancing tonight has been CANCELLED We will be back next week 14th May 2021Hi All, due to the current situation in Sydney Greek Dancing tonight has been CANCELLED We will be back next week 14th May 2021

18.01.2022 My vision for the iconostasis

18.01.2022 BISHOP EMILIANOS AT ST DEMETRIOS ST MARYS It was a blessed visit to the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of St Demetrios St Marys by His Grace Bishop Emilianos of Meloa and Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia on Sunday 5th July 2020 to preside at Matins and serve the Divine Liturgy together with the Rector Presbyter Fr Nectarios Joannou. His Grace also preached the divine word stating during his sermon that "we have the unbelievable blessing to be so...ns and daughters of the living God and this means we will inherit eternal life." After the duration of the Divine Liturgy, His Grace was served lunch in the church hall by the ladies of St Demetrios Philoptohos Society, attended also by the Rector, church assistants and the Administrative Committee of the Parish and Community. God grant him many years!

18.01.2022 COVID-19 Update

18.01.2022 The next stage has begun...

18.01.2022 First Divine Liturgy of His Eminence Archbishop MAKARIOS of Australia on Sunday 19th July 2020. Photographs courtesy of Mary Nichols.

17.01.2022 Our classrooms are primed and ready to start lessons!

16.01.2022 Share with Africa Fundraiser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR2Waey0SH4&feature=youtu.be

16.01.2022 AVAILABLE SOON!

12.01.2022 Marriage Preparation Seminars August 2020 " Marriage is a journey"

12.01.2022 , , . From the night my spirit rises early in the morning to You, O God, for Your commands are a light upon the earth.

12.01.2022 Congratulations to our Seniors Group Co-Ordinator Mr Anastasios Georgitsis for his recent Award for Outstanding Service from GWC Community Services. Much deserved!

10.01.2022 https://watch.hellenicfilmusa.org/landing/545728399

10.01.2022 A NEW LOGO AGAIN... Why has the logo changed again? Because the design was so good that other churches were starting to use it too haha... Well thats because the design was too generic. There was nothing specific about it that really showed it was OUR logo. Well not anymore! The colours of the logo are the common colours of the Greek Orthodox Church - Moroon and white, very common liturgical colours which dominate the realm of the church interior and vestments. Not to menti...on that the colour signifies the blood of Christ which was shed upon the cross for the remission of our sins. The patron saint of our parish and church dominates the top of the logo and we are all proud of it. Saint Demetrios is one of the greatest martyrs of the early Christian church and the patron saint of the second largest city of Greece and second capital city (synvasileuousa polis) of the former Byzantine Empire. The former logo told everyone that it belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church of St Demetrios. Well there are hundreds of them throughout the world that can claim that. Our logo now includes the suburb and the legal and ecclesiastical status of the church - Parish and Community. The icon is now OUR icon from the templon of our church, painted by Mr Konstantinos Hatzipavlis right here in St Marys and not some random image from the web. The icon depicts the saint with his armour and spear, protecting those who pray to him to intercede for them to our Lord. Our Parish and Community was established in August 1970, when the first Administrative Committee came together to commence planning for the future of a church in the Greater West of Sydney. What a milestone and achievement! I hope that this is one that will be celebrated very soon together with our Archbishop His Eminence Makarios of Australia, the 50 year Anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of St Demetrios.

09.01.2022 Annual General Meeting 2020 On Sunday 15th November, the AGM for our Parish and Community took place in our Greek Community Hall. It was an important and informative event where significant issues were discussed and critical changes were made to improve the operation of the Parish and Community going forward. 1. Life Membership was bestowed upon many prominent individuals who had dedicated their time and effort throughout the lifetime of the Parish and Community. These peopl...e were: 1) Mr Peter and Mrs Matina Georgopoulos, 2) Mr Michael and Mrs Antonia Giameos, 3) Mr Evangelos Velonas, 4) Mr Antonios and Mrs Androulla Papantoniou (in absentia), and 5) Mr Con Levadetes. 2. Our Rector Fr Nectarios Joannou awarded Mrs Georgia Hantes for her dedication and support by her service in the Philoptohos Society of the church. 3. The constitution was discussed and members who were present voted on various improvements to its articles to improve the running of the Parish and Community. 4. The Board of Directors were announced (not elected as there were 11 nominations and 11 places to fill): Current Board of Directors: Mr Spiros Apokis, Mr Bill Nichols, Mr Nick Theologou, Mr John Minas, Mr Con Teloniatis, Mr Photios Monovasios and Mr Tony Gouskos New Members: Mr Simeon Ofidis, Mr Lazarus Ofidis, Mr Evangelos Velonas and Mr Anastasios Georgitsis. Retiring Members: Mr George Monovasios and Mr Peter Georgopoulos. 5. The executive roles (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) will be elected on Sunday 22nd November at 11am.

07.01.2022 Thank you to the ladies of our Philoptohos Society and others for their kind words for my Name Day this week. God bless you all. + Fr Nectarios

07.01.2022 COVID-19 CHANGES FROM 24th July 2020 The number of people allowed at any service are 100 people, subject to the 4 square metre rule. Our church is limited to 70 people.... People attending will be required to provide their name and contact details so that they can be used for contact tracing. SOURCE: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

04.01.2022 St Andrew's Theological College will be hosting an Open Day on 17th of December! You are invited to "come and see" and learn firsthand about the different programs and activities. For more details, including registration, please see the flyer. We hope to see you there!

04.01.2022 Christ is Risen Christ is Risen

03.01.2022 http://www.greekorthodox.org.au/?page_id=22911

03.01.2022 This evening Very Reverend Prochoros Anastasiadis, Archepiscopal Vicar of Canberra represented His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia at the Sydney Town... Hall where a concert took place celebrating 200 Years of Greek Independence. Father Prochoros illustrated the importance of both feasts, the Annunciation of the Theotokos and Greek Independence. Moreover he thanked the Lord Mayor of Sydney Mrs Clover Moore on behalf of His Eminence for allowing this historic event to take place at the historic venue of Sydney Town Hall. In addition he conveyed the best wishes of His Eminence and wished everyone a great evening.

03.01.2022 A great initiative and experience

03.01.2022 AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS "I urge all Orthodox Faithful and every resident in NSW to raise their voice in support of the NSW Bill that protects against discrimination on the basis of religion. Please take the NSW Parliament 30 second online survey by Friday 21 August 2020. Support the Bill by ticking SUPPORT here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F8KFWXB. NSW is one of only two States that do not protect its citizens against religious discrimination. The proposed amendments implement the recommendation of the Ruddock Review on Religious Freedom, that NSW should update its discrimination laws to protect people of faith. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese is supportive of the proposed amendments, and will be making a detailed submission to the Joint Committee."

02.01.2022 Covid Update Dear Parishioners, Christ is Risen!... In light of the Premier's update on rules and restrictions, all faithful are required to wear a mask when attending services in our church tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. More information below. Premier's update on rules and restrictions | 6 May 2021 From 5pm Thursday 6 May rules around household visitors, face masks, singing, dancing and restrictions in aged care facilities will be tightened. The restrictions apply to Greater Sydney (including Wollongong, Central Coast and Blue Mountains) and will be in place until 12:01am Monday 10 May. https://www.nsw.gov.au/m/covid-19-restrictions-update-6-may